This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This subproject involves mechanistic and structural investigations of enzymes involved in wall teichoic acid biosynthesis in B. subtilis. Our aim is to define the wall teichoic acid pathway in S. aureus, a major Gram-positive pathogen, and to develop an invitro target-based screen for inhibitors.